The Secrets of Neck Tension (Breathing and Arms): a Postural Restoration perspective
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- Опубліковано 25 бер 2023
- Neck tension always involves a compensatory breathing component. When we lose stability somewhere in our body, our normal movement and breathing mechanics break down, so we use accessory breathing muscles to compensate for lack of diaphragmatic breathing. This creates neck tension but also impacts our scapular and arm movement. Diaphragmatic breathing requires pelvic stability through hamstrings, adductors, glutes and abdominals, and the ability to flex and extend your shoulders without the neck interfering. All of this stability and movement must happen synchronously, because that is what walking is: the rhythmic syncing of arm and leg movements that allow a neck to remain relaxed.
Hey there, my name is Neal Hallinan.
The purpose of this channel is to help people understand and resolve chronic muscular and joint pain, primarily through the discipline of Postural Restoration.
As someone who lived with chronic pain for many years of my life, I know how debilitating and isolating it can be. But I also know it can be resolved.
I hold the following credentials:
Postural Restoration Trained (PRT)
Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS)
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Amateur Historian (AH, my own self-designation)
I live and work in the great state of New Jersey, USA.
I offer one-on-one training as well as online consultations via Zoom. The information can be found here:
pritrainer.com/on-line-consul...
/ neal_hallinan
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Subscribe to my channel here: / @nealhallinan
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For an example of typical exercises for a beginner program, you can look here:
pritrainer.com/pri-left-aic-r...
Please note, this is quite generic and not sufficient for everybody!
I fully agree that it isn't mainstream knowledge. That's why over more then 10 years i had taught myself to experiment and observe different movements and their interactions. I was familiar with all that Neal is talking about. I had wrong bite, molars missing on right side, right foot pronation, shoulders, neck and hip issues. It was a long road, but i had sorted 90% of the issues. Those kind of practitioners are virtually non existent, regular physios dont have a clue. If you mention something like that, they look as if you are mental😂. So i had learned to keep quiet and rely on my own observations and self treatment. Ultimately, no one knows our bodies better, then ourselves. Thank you, Neal, for being curious and outspoken about your discoveries.
My quality of life has improved a lot because of you . Thank you sir for uploading these type of videos.
When I first found your channel like 2-3 months ago I couldn’t believe it because you found what my problems. Ever since my life’s changing slowly. And this exceserxe in the video just turned of my neck pain. Unbelievable! Thank you bro. It’s crazy how much I changed, and your videos just never seem to end !
Before I would raise my arms while standing and my back would arch and my shoulder especially right one would feel uncomfortable. Now all that just disappeared from this video
100% true
Over long time things get obvious
Appreciate you and your knowledge
Thanks
I feel like Neal would make a fantastic guest for the Mind Pump Podcast, this information has been so vital to me and should be shared to everyone that needs it.
Thank God he sent your channel to me (to supplement my knowledge as I am a young Physio Therapist. I have watched a few of your videos in almost 3 weeks, and there's really a lot of things I don't understand. God bless you!
This is crazy. I copied the last exercise you showed and I felt my neck feel loose in a way I've never felt before. Thanks for sharing!
Holy. This is amazing everything you said adds up for me. Its so interesting how posture effects the whole body and adjusting one seemingly unrelated quirk in your posture can change everything.
That s the video i was looking for 👌👌🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you Neal.
This is gonna sound weird, but I did PRI for like a year, and it helped but what has helped me loosen up the most is lay on my bead and literally "play dead" and surrender into the tension and just let it move my body wherever it wants to.
That really helped me figure out where the source was because a lot of the tension and pain was my body trying to fight the pattern because it wants to be neutral, so its like a pattern fighting another pattern.
@@mrmeeseeks2634 That’s interesting. You were seeing a credentialed therapist that you found on the PRI website?
@@NealHallinan Yeah, she even did some occlusal tests and vision cause there's definitely a lot of tension coming from inside my cranium,, like deep inside. But its not visual nor teeth
@@NealHallinan Am gonna do Ayahuasca in about two weeks to see if I relive and heal some subconscious trauma, cause tbh the more time passes the less I think there is a physical sensory input that's throwing my body off, feels a lot deeper than that plus the pattern happened too quickly, from 0 to 100. As if some entity suddenly decided to take over my body
@@mrmeeseeks2634 I feel the same way. Been doing PRI for 2 years. Don’t feel any better. Sometimes they don’t even test me during the session. Wish I could see Neal.
PRI practitioners say not to actively brace during the day but the prescribed exercises are too weak to provide more resting muscle tone day-to-day. This seems contradictory and I've seen this now for over a year doing PRI exercises. What works somewhat for me is finding those areas that are inhibited/weak because of patterning and then training those under far more load than PRI ever recommends. After doing those exercises (same day, post workout) I feel so much better but it goes away within a day (after DOMS releases muscle tension). Just breathing and "sensing" has never been enough for me unless I devote basically all brain power all day long to "sensing" and that's exhausting to the point of depression. We shouldn't have to consciously breathe all day long when millions of healthy people go about their day doing none of this without pain.
From what i have gathered, PRI is not about consciously bracing and breathing. This is only during the exercises. The goal is to retrain the brain into making the body move in the correct way without you being conscious about it, breathing included.
You shouldnt think about it at some point you shouldnt even be in need of doing the techniques , maybe you're not doing the techniques right, or teeth, feet or eyes throw you off.
@@matenorth that's kinda difficult when you work and sleep for 8 hours respectively.
from what i gathered this stuff only helps if combined with long walks and even then you will slip back into it after sitting or sleeping.
that being said the pain relief and overall relaxation in the body afterwards is totally worth it in my opinion
@@Maynard0504 No, your brain will adjust your body to correct movement during sitting, working and sleeping. At least that's the promise they give. My PRI therapist has me sitting and standing in a specific way. Sone habits outside the exercises have to be implemented as well for the pattern breaking to take place.
He estado haciendo PRI los ultimos 11 meses, 1 hora al dia y creanme que funciona, se siente los nervios, musculos y todo alinearse cuando se hacen las respiraciones. Los dolores se han ido de mi cuerpo en un 90%, No necesito estar consciente de mi respiracion o caminata todo el dia, es algo que se da debido a la constancia, al entrenamiento que se le da al cerebro para que salga de ese patron.
Excellent video Neal. It is very true that PRI is not a “one size fits all” mentality. What exercises work for one individual may not work for others. Seeing a PRI practitioner in person who can see your weakness and/or deficit and tailor exercises accordingly is truly a game changer.
Well said!
Basically driving the body from inside OUT throughout the skeleton system by feeling It, go it. Very Neal!
omg you are blowing my mind!
i just want to say that i had figured it out myself once. i was breathing so good for a week. and then i lost it and forgot how i did it :)
this is amazing, I actually have tight right side of the neck, and even mouth splint, jaw switched to the right side :D pain between shoulder blades, but if i try diaphragmatic breathing everything fixes, even both hips pops(couldn't release right side hip) from prolonged sitting, now they pop evenly, I can sense the left side of diaphragm, and i noticed while running if i can use the left side of diaphragm with step, it somehow becomes less challenging to keep the needed running pace
I had a bad TBI about 10 months ago and have been suffering from postconcussion syndrome with several issues vision, lightheadedness, palpitations you name it. I’ve been through a lot of different therapies with different specialists with minimal improvements and am now working with a chiropractic specialist who focuses on the upper cervical spine. He found through a video motion X-ray there was significant loss of motion with the joints in my neck causing massive tension and we have been working on that and I have made some improvements but they have been very slow still. My body and especially neck has always felt like it was shifting to the right strongly even before my TBI and we are going to take a look at my pelvis and if needed make a correction. I’m hoping this is a big game changer for my neck and brain to get in better alignment if there is a finding because my neck and body just don’t feel centered and I feel like it could be hindering my body to recover. Weird question but ,Do you think a misaligned pelvis could be a significant hindrance with someone recovering from a concussion/brain injury?
What's a TBI?
@@SuperLawz traumatic brain injury
I think misalignment hinders any kind of recovery
I had a stroke and lost short term memory before recovery. I had those post concussion issues, plus noise and light sensitivity. PRI with a good practitioner has fixed these issues plus I realized a lot of symptoms/ailments that I had always lived with were resolved.
My Gosh, everything you’ve said is me. I am a muscular/skeletal mess. My neck is a big problem, forward head and a rounded forward left shoulder and ribcage feels twisted. No air where I should be getting air. My neck muscles ARE doing the work of my scapulas but no one really is listening to me b.c I guess I’m not in the medical field.
I actually went to a PRI specialist out of State. Very nice man. I spent 3 intense days w/him . He went overboard cramming as much in as possible b/c I was only there for 3 days. Though he meant well, I really didn’t really learn how to properly do these exercises ,though I know you don’t really call them that .
I know I wasn’t breathing properly (I’m a chest breather) and he really didn’t teach me how. Those three days I was pretty miserable because everything hurt bad because my body wasn’t used to this. My body acted negatively. Too much too soon.
I just recently was diagnosed with a little scoliosis, which I didn’t have three years ago . all this muscular dysfunction especially with my ribcage/neck/scapulas is really screwing with my body. Have you ever worked with anyone with adult scoliosis idiopathic obviously? I know it’s coming from all this muscular dysfunction /weakness . I’m trying to figure this out mostly on my own now . I’m tired of doctors not knowing, and pt’s that really haven’t been much help. I believe PRI can really help. Your thoughts?
Thank you
I feel the same. Dont give up brother
I have the same issues. Nothing seems to help
me too! @@theresewisocki9979
Same right side of neck is problem for me.
ok thanks for sharing
Fun! This is why classical pilates works😊
Excellent❤🎉
you can also release tongue...
i have a tight neck as well as not flat back , back blades moving out
it's interesting that exercise for normalising it also includes arms movement in opposite directions at full length straight
I truly believe my stiff neck and poor posture is the cause of my droopy eye. Every time I get a massages my eye seems to release tension, blurring temporarily goes away. I also developed teeth grinding late in age. My job required me to drive over 125 miles daily and I developed frozen shoulders, hip stiffness, neck pain, could this be why I have droopy eye?
I have the same. I feel it's coming from my stiff neck too.
Unrelated but will doing push ups retrain the scapula (after zoa exercise to open up the right wall) to travel correctly along the ribs/spine?
A shame theres no PRI I can find in Australia. Seems I fit the bill for al the symptoms. Started your exercises so we'll see how I go in a few weeks. thanks Neil. Wish I found you years ago,
Ditto about Australia etc
do you have any tips for sitting?
I noticed it's impossible to not slip into left AIC/right BC
Hey Neil, I wanted to ask if aligned my pelvis and preforming other PRI techniques will also help fix up upper body asymmetry as well (shoulders, jaw). If not, what should I do to fix them? Thanks.
Your pelvis is almost certainly caused by you neck/jaw. You have to fix all of them.
@@bradjordan4711 what should i start with in PRI ? Vision, jaw or neck ?
After many exercises
for trying use my shoulders in gym
impingement BUT WHERE IS IT COMMING FROM ?? YOU SOLVED IT
Fantastic channel! Just subscribed. Please don’t use acronyms, kindly mention the whole word so we can better understand what you are talking about, which muscle/movement etc
Are the splints worn just at night and or during exercises or all the time?
❤thank u!
Where are you located? Interested in a session(s). Willing to travel.
Hi there, can anyone suggest someone in Montreal who has PR credentials! Thank you, Mr., Hallinan, you helped me so much !
Was wondering if you have availability for a consultation? Can't seem to get it to work on line. . .
Plz suggest exercises for neck tension
Hey Neal, do you still do online consultations? :)
Hi! How are you doing? Ive been watching your videos and I’m in a pattern, my jaw went to the right and I don’t know if invisalign will do it. I know it’s a neck issue and that it’s a pattern. What did you do for your jaw and teeth? It’s what’s keeping me from getting out of this pattern. Thanks for your time
Invisalign won’t position the jaw correctly. You’ll have to see a PRI therapist and/or airway centric dentist.
Alright thanks a lot
Hi sir, my question is that if you are in a lying position and u are seeing ur both feet, my left feet is inward going and my right feet is going outward. What is going on ? Can u please tell me
Can the left/ right distinction be conflated with dominant/subdominant?
my left neck muscles are short and in front, left hamstring is short 70 degrees, I can't breathe from the left, should I do the opposite? I received radiation to the left breast due to breast cancer, my left breast is higher, left scm, left scalens short left upper trapezius is very active, left shoulder is high. left leg 1 cm short (left posterior pelvic tilt?) in left femur adduction, left ql and left external external oblique are very tight, that is, the right side of my trunk is loose and the left side is tight. I can turn my head to the right. I would appreciate it if you could answer,Do we contract the hamstring both in the inspirium and experium, or only in the inspiration?we do the inspiration while the leg goes up?
Neal, can you help me? I watched the video about neyrology where you showed the picture of the brain and said your left eye. Can someone help me find it?
Hi Neal,
Do you still offer PRI coaching online?
Hey bro how do I get in contact regarding online consultation?
Does PRI method have an opinion about what to do about deviated septum? Have it fixed surgically?
It always depends on the individual and what the individual is experiencing. You’d have to be evaluated in-person.
Neil when you were in pain in your 20s did you ever get screened or think about ligametous hypermobilty like ehlers danlos syndrome or hyper mobility spectrum disorder?
No because I was so tight.
@@NealHallinan oh I see have you ever or do you know anyone who talks about ligament laxity and pri? Specifically right sided ligament laxity?
Yes I have hypermobility and iAm a total mess. It’s on both sides but on the left more
how would chiropractic care help in p.r.i.
Hey Neil, I’d really like to try the arm swing exercise. Still right neck-driven after three years of PRI. Can you provide details of how to do it?
Heels, hamstrings, posterior tilt of the pelvis, breathing normally while slowly alternating arms up and down. You’d likely have to inhibit the neck first before it would work, though.
@@NealHallinan how would you inhibit the neck?
@@lw7654perhaps using a neck peanut or something rolled up like what appears in video would help that
to inhibit the neck you need to address: occlusion,vision,tongue@@lw7654
Any PRI credencialled in Buenos Aires?
To ask if anyone could recommend a pro in this in the UK
Where can I get the splint?
Hey guys anyone knows any other Pri trainer that does online consultations? Been trying to get in contacts with Neal ik he been busy thanks.
what kind of profession is this? I need to see someone in person.
Hi guys anyone know how I can reach out to him?😭
Oh God, I wish I could be treated by you. But I live in Brazil :')
Aside techniques, what are some at home things that help with neck/facial tension. Anyone have suggestions, been in some pain and messing with my head. Anything even for some short term relief.
I am waiting on my next appointment which is awhile from now.
Neil, I am sure you understand how hellacious this can be.
I do understand. Without knowing where the tension is coming from, it’s hard to suggest anything. Making sure your breathing is relaxed and slow (resonant breathing) could help.
@@NealHallinan I understand, Dr. Lam, a Dentist who is PRI Certified, found that my right jaw is partially dislocated, along with my low resting tongue.
Would any type of massaging, ice/heat, or anything at home I can do to maybe ease the discomforts with my neck.
I do your 90/90 when I get flare ups and at night every night, along with some all fours breathing but sometimes it’s not enough.
@@bennymac6618 I really don’t know if that will help. You have to try, I suppose.
try barefoot walking
@@wakeupp563 Usually increases my tension
I live in Puerto Rico. Where do I find a PRI practitioner?
How would I go about getting a splint?
A dentist. But you don’t want to get one if it’s not needed.
O ya I'm pretty sure my neck tightness is from my biceps/shoulder... Low back is tight too
Underlying it all is breathing (lack of diaphragmatic breathing). Hands and knees breathing as shown on my website ***could**** help a bit.
@@NealHallinan definitely breathing is restricted a bit
Is a mandibular splint, like the one you showed, synonymous with a mouth guard?
Perhaps. But used for postural stabilization reasons, which is not something most dentists are aware of
@@NealHallinan got it, thank you for your reply. I googled the term and it showed either mouth guards or things that wrap around your entire head/jaw, so I wanted to double check.
@@NealHallinan hey Neal!
some of the "Msk neurology" say that you are "cr4p" what you think about this?
Interesting, I've had so much neck tension/pain for years, and this year my dentist told me it's likely I grind my teeth. I suppose it would explain why I so often wake up with my jaw aching and neck feeling locked up. I didn't want to wear a nightguard, but I suppose it may be worth it if it helps align my body by making it get the right sensory input (meaning, making it think that my teeth are touching).
Which exercise should I do in left AIC right BC right TMCC pattern.i am a left hander.
hi Neal, what's the difference between a mandibular splint and a neuromuscular orthotic?
i recently went to a dentist and she told me that im physically incapable of putting my tongue on the roof of my mouth properly and she referred me to an airway specialist (kind of).
there im diagnosed with Malocclusion, Temporomandibular joint disorder,
Dentofacial functional abnormalities.
ive been practising pri techniques for a couple years now although instinctively i knew it wasnt working.
im now waiting for the orthotic device. could this orthotic device change things? can it have similar effects to the splint?
To be honest, I’m not that familiar with neuromuscular orthotics. I think they are trying to find your “home base” for your bite, but I’m not sure they take into account the influence from the ground, hips etc….The mandibular splint is flat on top and doesn’t allow for the top teeth to “fit” with the bottom teeth. This allows for the jaw to remain free for tri-planar motion because the jaw needs to remain free so that we can access the lower body muscles. The mandibular splint is not being used to find the perfect bite position, it’s simply to “free up” a locked up body.
@@NealHallinan understood. many thanks for taking the time!
@@NealHallinan crazy thing, my airway management doctor (not too sure what the nomenclature is!) actually gave a TedX talk about the tongue (ua-cam.com/video/lpON0PS0r_E/v-deo.html). he talked about the deep front line, and how it can actually recreate the arch in our foot. while he doesnt know of PRI, a lot of what we talked about during my consultation had major similarities to PRI. im curious as to what his field of study was (aside from dentistry), but it felt very PRI like! it's as if the neuro orthosis is a slight splint + pri for individuals who cant find success with pri due to cranium/neck issues
@@NealHallinan which mandibular splint do you recommend?
will you tell us what appliances your dentist used for your face? What expander exactly? Also have you had septum surgery? your voice sounds different
the splint and a removable palatal expander. No surgery. Voice changes are normal when the head changes its position relative to the neck.
All i have to say is that anyone living in the US is lucky. Too many PRI practitioners. Do you know if anyone is PRI certified in Greece? I cannot find anyone online.
For a country of 350 million people, there are only 200-ish credentialed practitioners (I think). There are not many anywhere in the world, unfortunately.
Is it true that there are only 270 pri credentialed practicioners? I clicked on find a practicioner.
Is there anybody in Europe you would somewhat endorse?
There is one individual in Berlin, one in the UK and one in Ireland. I don’t know of any others
Two in Germany now
@@schminke89 yeah I was glad to see that. Strange to see martin Higgins is not listed anymore.
I have "love-hate" relationship with PRI videos. On one hand they explain all wired adaptations and misalignments our bodies develop, so I can relate. On the other hand the actual treatment techniques seem unclear, trial and error. For example, a mandibular splint, or no splint? Varying testing results which could be impacted by so many things. Meanwhile the cost of a splint is hundreds, or thousands of dollars... It feels like PRI describes my condition exactly, but not sure what can be done to fix...
I think Neal gets bogged down with complexity and the aim for neutrality is a futile one.
Agreed.
I feel the same
I felt similarly, but keep in mind that each human has built compensating strategies developed unique to their life over their lifetime and because there's the neurological component some strategies will work better for others and sometimes you have to address one compensation before another can be worked on.
I tried for a long time trying this stuff on my own from videos and saw hints of progress but after working with a PRI in person it really helps to have someone with the knowledge guide you through the positions and help determine which exercises would be most effective for the client.
It's a long road and I'm still working at it, but I went for being in a state of agonizing pain and stomach discomfort every moment I was awake and now I can go days without and real pain and when it does put up I can get rid of it for days in under 20 minutes.
Try meeting with a certified PRI. Saves a lot of time practicing something you may be doing wrong (like me a while back)
no FB discord groups to share knowledge?
6:36 one of the ''ahh'' moments
9:54
so I should tuck my pelvis in and try to feel obliques on exhalation, instead of feeling the abs?
I would phrase it as a posterior pelvic tilt through heel sense. In PRI “abs” = internal obliques and transverse abdominals, rather than rectus.
I was hoping to get some exercises out of this video so I watched to the end struggling to understand what was being said. I guess this video is only useful to the actual practitioners of PRI.
Sorry, wouldn’t he feel the ground under his RIGHT foot when his LEFT arm came down? Otherwise I can’t make sense of the walking pattern
When a left arm comes up (shoulder flexion) it assists in moving you to the right, at which point the right shoulder arm is moving down. Since the vast majority of this technique is simply sagittal plane (very little frontal and transverse) it’s not exactly walking. But nonetheless, there will be a moment of transition where the arms change directions (left arm coming down) and he will still feel more ground under the right foot, which would match up with how you are envisioning it.
"physical physics " - neal hallinan
Numbness after that exercise brain mind muscle connection
My PRI instructor is good, but he is unreliable and takes ages to respond to me. Progress is slow :(
I get click baited every time. Thinking i ll get some kinda excersise video and then get a 30 minute lecture about hips and displacements etc. It would be nice if you would make a few guided excersise videos
moral of the story: if it's dental, you're fuck*d
Neal I'm wondering if you're getting bogged down in never ending complexity. The search foe neutrality is probably a futile one.
I’m not sure what the value of these videos are. If everything is customized for the patient, how is this helpful ?
My entire channel is about the discipline of Postural Restoration. Most people who watch me are already interested in PRI, so that's who I'm speaking to.
Can you please check you email .😭
I dont find this advice very actionable
This is a channel about Postural Restoration and its application. If you need help, you can find a PRI provider.
@@NealHallinan I have to apologize. Actually, the only thing that helped with my neck pain was releasing the tension in my jaw, which I did because of one of your videos. Though I just moved my jaw around randomly, because I did not know what else to do.